Every day, smartphone owners spend several hours playing games, watching funny cats videos, and buying goods on their iOS and Android devices. Latest reports say that smartphone users open 9 -10 apps on a daily basis. No wonder, both, startups and seasoned enterprises want to build a leading app and increase their outreach. If you are one of them, our article will surely be of great use, because below we cover the following topics:
— Current mobile app development trends and stats
— Benefits of custom app development
— Peculiarities of iOS, Android, and hybrid applications.
Custom mobile app development is the process of creating applications tailored to the needs of your company. Unlike off-the-shelf solutions, custom apps address a particular audience, not all users. They provide specific features and functionality that solve a certain problem without trying to please everyone. The only exception is standard elements like chatbots and administrative panels. Here are only some of the custom mobile application development benefits:
— Advanced security
Custom mobile app development involves implementing specialized features and technologies for better encryption and security. Thus, the risks of malware and other threats are reduced.
— Scalability
Regular apps usually have limited resources and don’t offer room for growth. Custom applications handle more information and can be scaled if necessary.
— Stronger competition
Implementing tailored features and unique solutions helps your app stand out and build a brand faster and more efficiently.
— Better control
Off-the-shelf products use third-party solutions, so you depend on app development services and can be left with nothing. With a custom mobile app, you have full control over the product and its features.
There are three mobile app development models depending on your target market: iOS, Android, and hybrid. Below, we will discuss their peculiarities in more detail.
If your target audience is mainly in the Apple environment, developing an iOS application for a seamless user experience and improved integration is a must. The mobile application development process includes developing apps for iPhones, iPads, iPods, and wearables using Swift and Objective-C languages. In addition, mobile app developers use integrated development environments (IDE) like Xcode or Sublime Text.
When focusing on iOS mobile app development, you get a broad audience that remains loyal to Apple throughout the years. You can also offer better UX thanks to Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines. Finally, you become a part of the Apple philosophy, which is based on outstanding security and usability.
According to statistics, around 71% of people worldwide use Android devices making it occupy a huge market. When working on Android programs, mobile app developers use Google’s tools and native languages like Java and Kotlin. Google also has a dedicated IDE — Android Studio, with a huge set of instruments. The benefits of Android mobile application development are rather obvious:
— Better performance
— Multiple modifications
— Compatibility with rich Google functionality
— Improved security
Above, we discussed the peculiarities of iOS and Android mobile app development, but there is also a third mode for those who want to cover both markets. We are talking about cross-platform or hybrid applications. They are similar to native apps but have one code base and can be launched both on iOS and Android devices. These apps are usually chosen by companies that are ready to trade customized features and improved UX for better maintainability and wide coverage. According to application development services, cross-platform apps can save time and money, and offer broader native distribution.
Building a successful app is not an easy task. It requires a comprehensive approach: market analysis, mobile app development, testing, and proper marketing. You should also decide on the operating system, functionality, and budget to minimize all possible risks. But the most important issue is ordering app development services from the right company. When turning to professionals, you get a perfectly working application that can easily conquer the market and occupy the highest ranks both at App Store and Google Play.